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General discussion

USB 3.0, light speed - when to buy laptop

Jun 20, 2010 6:05AM PDT

I heard usb3 and light speed are coming soon. Does anyone know when?

My laptop is on its last legs and I need to get a new one. Should I get one now or wait until light speed comes out? Might there be a PCI expresscard for adding light speed to laptops in the future so I can just buy my laptop now?

I bought my projector right before blu-ray came out and have regretted it ever since so don't want to make the same mistake.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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light peak not light speed
Jun 20, 2010 6:27AM PDT

I meant to say light peak by Intel not light speed.

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USB 3.0, light speed - when to buy laptop
Jun 20, 2010 7:26AM PDT

Some time next year.

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USB 3.0, light speed - when to buy laptop
Jun 20, 2010 10:07AM PDT

Thanks. Do you know if they are going to come out with a pci expresscard for the light peak so I can just buy my new laptop now and then insert the card in later?

If not, I'll hold off a year before buying my new laptop though I'm not sure my current one can last that long.

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Don't wait
Jun 26, 2010 12:10AM PDT

If it's on its last legs, don't wait, get a new one soon. The speed you get now is worth the 1 year wait for Light Peak (you still have to wait for device manufacturers to make worthy devices so it might be even longer). If you can find one with USB 3 then good, otherwise, stick with USB 2. So far, only storage devices are taking advantage of USB 3 but you can get the equivalent if you get a laptop with eSATA. Also, an HDMI output would be good. If you're the type to hang on to old systems, you wouldn't tend to buy the newest and greatest anyway. Wait for mass adoption as it would be cheaper, and maybe one or the other technology would have claimed victory. That's the time to get a new laptop again.